LONDON: London MayorBoris Johnson has spent almost 25,000 pounds on his "Prime Ministerial-style" trade mission to India last November, British media reported today.

Johnson has been known to attack his predecessor, Labour mayor Ken Livingstone, for extravagant trips, including one to India which is believed to have cost 740,000 pounds.

He, however, defended the bill saying, "It's something business always asks you to do. It's one of those things they all say is valuable to them. They always say London must be represented."

"My opposition was to spending a lot on PR consultants to handle the whole thing. We've done a much more economical version."

Johnson's Prime Ministerial-style week-long trip, which took in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, boosted the profile of London -- and the Mayor -- on the international stage, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

According to the paper, the mayor's entourage, which included his chief of staff, head of communications and a foreign affairs team, spent 13,781.44 pounds on flights.

This included premium economy tickets on international British Airways flights -- where Johnson was upgraded to first class -- and two internal domestic flights.

The team spent 7,004.86 pounds on hotels. About 1,245 pounds went on cars for the mayor and his entourage and a bus for the accompanying media.

He racked up 2,783.63 pounds in expenses, thought to have covered food, gifts and entertaining.

Johnson received several gifts, including a gold lantern from Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and a silver plaque of Gandhi from a Delhi-based business group.

He was also given a filigree silver peacock, a statue of an air traffic control tower and up to 50 other presents that did not need to be declared because of their low monetary value.

India figures among the top countries from where projects have been coming into the city of London and since 2007, nearly 120 Indian companies have set up a London base.

London & Partners (L&P), the mayor's inward investment agency which is part of the delegation, believes this figure could be significantly higher following the visit.